Latina entrepreneurs are taking on a stronger leadership role in U.S. business growth, but unequal access to capital still limits their expansion, according to top North Bay business leaders.
At the same time, leaders acknowledge that minority entrepreneurs have access to far more organizational support today than they did several decades ago.
When Belinda Guadarrama, CEO and founder of GC Micro Corporation, started her company in 1986, she couldn’t even get a loan application from the two banks she visited. She attributed part of the struggle to a lack of financial literacy and her socioeconomic background.
“I was never exposed to it,” she said. “I didn’t really know anyone else who had a business.”
Guadarrama recalled facing contractors who were unwilling to work with a woman in IT when she was starting out.
She said much has changed since then, but she recognized that Latina women still need resources to scale their companies. She noted that while organizations like the Small Business Administration (SBA) and banks are eager to facilitate capital, minority business owners must network and rely on experienced mentors.
“Whether it’s through the SBA and the programs that they have,” she said, “or working with the Hispanic chambers, going to their mixers—you meet a lot of different individuals.”
According to the latest Impact of Women-Owned Businesses report by Wells Fargo, Latina-owned employer businesses grew by 37% between 2022 and 2025, outpacing all other demographic groups.
However, business loan approval rates for Latinas remain the lowest of any group. Latinas receive just 39% of requested funding from national banks, compared to 44% for Latino men, 55% for white women and 60% for white men, according to surveys conducted in 2023 for Stanford’s State of Latino Entrepreneurship 2023 report.
Loan applications to local banks met with similar results, with Latinas granted 39% of their loan request, Latinos 52%, white women 65% and white men 67%. Surveys conducted for the report in 2024 and 2025 did not break results down by gender.
For Vanessa Robledo, founder and co-owner of the winery Vintner’s Diary, access to capital remains the primary barrier for female entrepreneurs, even though women own 40% of U.S. businesses.
Robledo agreed that Latinas need better financial literacy resources, emphasizing that educational programs preparing future entrepreneurs to pitch to banks are urgently needed.
“It’s extremely important,” she said. “Belinda helped me when she shared her experience of going to banks when she was starting out.”
Robledo, who comes from a lineage of Latino winemakers in Sonoma Valley, described how growing up in a male-dominated industry prepared her to be a resilient entrepreneur. She said when she first stepped into the wine business with Robledo Family Winery, the industry was predominantly patriarchal, but women are gradually stepping into more leadership roles and key positions across the sector.
“I had to believe in myself,” she said. “Even though I was raised to get married and have children, I always believed there was something I wanted beyond that.”
The weight of culture and family
Guadarrama attributes her success as a Latina entrepreneur in the U.S. to her parents, who encouraged her from an early age to excel in school since neither of them finished high school.
“It was really important to them that I had a good education,” she said. “They would tell me, ‘We’re not going to have the money for that, so you’re going to have to get scholarships and study really hard.’”
She earned a degree in economics in Texas, where she is originally from. Guadarrama then became a trailblazer by founding GC Micro, an IT systems procurement and hardware integration firm serving high-security, government and defense sectors, including NASA.
She has earned many accolades over the years, including California State Small Business Person of the Year by the SBA and National Minority Female Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Robledo, meanwhile, stepped into a leadership role as a female entrepreneur at a very young age. As the daughter of Mexican immigrants who were not fluent in English, she became a key communicator within her family, taking on the role of translator during business meetings as they built their winery.
“That’s how I started learning,” she said. “I picked up on the business because both of my parents were natural entrepreneurs.”
It is important to Robledo to pass that legacy on to her daughter, having the example of her own mother taking ownership of family land and passing it to her children. “For the first time it will go to a daughter, which culturally is very different — it has never happened before.”
Guadarrama said she’s seen many women taking on family businesses which were once run by men. Those who choose different business pursuits are also better prepared for leadership with those personal examples, she said.
“Even if they don’t go into that particular business, they know the lingo and how to work with it,” she said. “There’s nothing better we can do than make sure to bring the young people into what we’re doing.”
Facing statewide challenges
Robledo and Guadarrama said women stepping into business leadership roles face ongoing challenges in California, particularly for Hispanic women.
Hispanic women outpace men in college attainment, per U.S. Census Bureau 2019-2023 data, with 18% holding a bachelor’s degree compared to 14% of men, according to a March 2026 University of California Los Angeles analysis. However, college‑educated Hispanics remain far less likely than their peers to enter high‑wage, high‑growth industries such as professional and scientific services or finance and real estate.
They also face significant wage gaps. Latinas earn a median hourly wage of $18 compared to $29 for non‑Latinas, while Latino men earn $20 compared to $35 for non‑Latino men. This can have significant impacts on long-term wealth building, particularly for women who may lose about $1.2 million to child care and housing expenses over a 40‑year career compared with white men.
Silvia González, who leads the small business and entrepreneurship research portfolio at UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute, told The Press Democrat there was “a huge jump in entrepreneurship during the pandemic” as Hispanic women started side businesses, consulting firms and other new endeavors. Yet these women also face a significant capital gap that can slow down their business growth and impede sustaining their long-term goals.
“Even though there is a strong labor force participation and rising educational attainment, that is still not translating to important economic gains,” González said.
“There are a lot of women who have established a business and think, ‘What are the next steps I need to put in place if my children want to take over?’ We’re great at starting businesses, but we’re not great at growing businesses,” she added. “If we can’t access big capital to grow our businesses, that has consequences.”
Despite these obstacles, Hispanic women are moving into land and business ownership in growing numbers, particularly in tech and hospitality, according to the Latino Community Foundation. To do so, they need access to sufficient capital to launch and then steady revenue streams and resources to grow.
Veronica Vences, the foundation’s vice president of economic justice and opportunity, told The Press Democrat in May that while there are growing challenges for these entrepreneurs to seek out assistance from the Small Business Administration (which now blocks green-card holders from getting loans), there are also new financial backing opportunities appearing all the time. The foundation offers support and resources for aspiring and growing business owners to improve their financial literacy and outlook, she said.
Guadarrama and Robledo agreed that a crucial missing piece for Latina entrepreneurs is connection with established leaders who can help guide them toward capital and resources. They noted resources such as the National Minority Supplier Development Council, founded in 1972, the longest-operating business growth engine for the broadest group of systematically excluded communities of color
“I think we’re lucky in Northern California,” Guadarrama said. “We have a tremendous number of businesses that are run by Latinas that are successful.”
Robledo, whose mother and daughter both play key roles in her winery, said helping Latinas navigate local banks to secure funding is critical. She added that she plans to host an event in September to support emerging female entrepreneurs, featuring guest speakers who can help unlock growth opportunities and capital.
“The first few years in business are very challenging,” Robledo said. “Being able to help secure that seed money for a company is so important.”
Raquel Issenberg can be reached at raquel.issenberg@pressdemocrat.com. Natalie Hanson can be reached at natalie.hanson@pressdemocrat.com.
